


Damselfly

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Series: Fly [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: AU, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Crime, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Gibbs has a son!, Gibbs' past!, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Pre-Het, Suicide, Suicide attempt/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 13:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7619452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. A bombing during a training exercise brings up past memories and people in Gibbs' life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"One target, Petty Officer." The Commander said. "Due North-East, 100 feet of our current position."

The PO looked through his scope-binoculars into the grassy field out in Cumberland for his target; he used the numbers in the corner of the screen to locate it. He stopped as he found it. "Package located," He informed his CO. His view was slightly obscured by the blades of long grass, but it was obvious to him what it was and he had no business whatsoever of being out here.

"Surrounding area?" The Commander asked his subordinate.

The PO scanned the surrounding area, the tree line for any hidden surprises. He went over it twice; once in zoomed view and the other with heat-vision. There were no overly big heat spots. "Clear, sir." He reported.

"Move in. I have your six, Marine."

"Copy." The PO crouched low as he moved slowly through the field to his target; a bomb, now located 50 ft. form their position and closing.

The Commander was 5 ft. behind and two paces to the left of the PO's shoulder. The PO arrived at the location with no harm done, but the Commander was not as lucky. The older man felt, more than heard it the instant his boot touched ground; the shift of the soil, the feel of pieces clicking into place, the feel of the spikes through the rubber of his sole. He stilled instantly. "Mud pie!" The Commander barked.

The Commander froze from where he was crouched over the bomb.

"Sir?" He Questioned.

"I've stepped on a device, PO." The Commander informed his Officer.

The PO licked his lips, a habit when he felt anxiety. This was something that he hadn't even considered. "Your orders, sir."

"Disarm the bomb," He ordered without hesitation. "Keep with the mission."

The PO was hesitant for but a moment, before he took out his pair of wire cutters from his vest pocket. "It's a bundle of five bricks of C4," He described; two were stacked on top of each other, and another pair as well, the fifth on top of those. "There is a timer; 4 minutes," He read; it was attached on top of the fifth brick. "I can see several wires, each red. And... a mercury switch." He took a breath as he stared at the device with a piercing green gaze , mentally taking it apart and piecing it back together; figuring out which wire went where and which one he had to cut. "38 seconds," He noted as he found the trigger wire, the one the completed the circuit. The PO was careful as he took the wire between his thumb and forefinger, sliding the jaws of his cutters around the plastic casing. His tongue swiped over his lips once again as he cut the wire. "Wire cut," The clock stopped at 32 seconds. He didn't let the breath out yet, though, not until he removed all the electrodes out from the C4. "Device disabled." He confirmed, letting that breath out.

"Good job, PO." The Commander said. "I'm calling it in." He took his radio from his vest and held down the speaker button, but he got static in return. "Communications are down."

"We have to get--" The PO stopped as the digital timer on the bomb resumed counting down; something that should not be happening. He must have missed something important. "The device reactivated."

"Time!" The Commander demanded.

"23 seconds." The PO shot out.

"Go!" He growled, still not able to move, still standing on a primed device.

"Sir--" The PO started to protest, knowing that you should never question you superior in the field, knowing that he wouldn't be able to disarm it. He needed time, something that was lacking.

"Run! That's a direct order, Marine." The Commander growled his command.

And the Petty Officer obeyed.

The clocked ticked down to zero. The bomb went off. The explosion sent both Marines into the air. The released pressure from the device under the Commander's foot caused the pins to connect and the charge to explode, sending more sand and blood into the air, along with a piercing scream.

**end of prologue**

 


	2. I

Leroy Jethro Gibbs picked up his cell phone as it once again rang, but it just as soon found its way back on the table along with the sawdust and tools as he read the I.D. that appeared on the screen. Jackson Gibbs, his father, had bee calling him since around 0600. Gibbs hadn't answered a single one. The two of them had never really been on good terms, haven't been since his mother left them. He blamed Jackson, though he knew that it wasn't the man's fault, and had never been able to resolve the problem.

He let out a breath that was not a sigh and picked up his hand drill. He'd just started a new hole when his cell rang _again_. But he answered it this time, wedging it at the crook of his neck as he continued to drill. "What, DiNozzo?"

" _Hello, to you too, Boss_!" Tony greeted him. " _And what a fine hour it is_."

"It's near 0800, Tony." Gibbs growled. "Spit it out."

" _Right_." Tony got to it, not ready for a head slap when he saw Gibbs next. " _Got a call about a explosion down in Cumberland involving two Marines from their base."_

Gibbs was quiet for a moment as he set his drill down and felt something in his gut. "Tell Ducky, and take the truck with Kate and McGee. Don't do anything until I get there, DiNozzo." He ordered his Agent and didn't wait for confirmation before he hung up. He sat there for a moment before he moved into action. After that, he was quick to get ready and climb into his truck. He made what should have been a two-hour drive, three-quarters that.

The field in Cumberland was taped off. He saw a few Marines putting K9s in the back of a jeep, and were leaving the crime scene alone. An MP at the tape. And that was who Gibbs approached.

He flashed his badge. "N.C.I.S. Special Agent Gibbs. My team will be here shortly,"

"Petty Officer Mark Daniels, sir." The MP nodded and lifted the tape to let his through. "This way," He led Gibbs to the Marine that looked to be in charge, and giving the orders. "Lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant turned. "Who's this, PO?" He asked.

"Agent Gibbs, sir. From N.C.I.S." Daniels introduced.

"Lt. Haune." He shook hands with Gibbs. "You can go back to your post, Daniels."

"Sir. Agent Gibbs," Daniels nodded and went back to his post, waiting for the arrival of the rest of the N.C.I.S. team.

"What can you tell me, Lt.?" Gibbs questioned, his notepad in hand. He might as well get some information while his team had still yet to arrive.

"We've been doing bomb disposal training at the Cumberland base since 0430. Explosion were heard at 0520." Haune told him.

" _Explosions_ ; plural?" Gibbs questioned.

"Yes. Reports of two; one follow right after by another." Haune nodded. "The explosions themselves is what clued the Command Post that something was not right. We don't use live explosives during training, Agent; we do dummy bombs, that if are activated, release powder to simulate an explosion."

"And there's no way that one of the techs that create your dummy bombs, messed up and used real explosives?" Gibbs addressed, knowing that it was an insult, but one that needed to be addressed.

"No way in hell, sir." The Lt. told him, defending his fellow Marines. "The techs created the dummies and then another officer checks them before they go out in the field."

"All right," Gibbs nodded. "Tell me about the exercise."

"There wasn't one,"

"What do you mean?" He looked up from his notepad.

"There was not an exercise scheduled out here," Haune shook his head. "This part of town is not in the Naval base, it's civilian land."

"So why were there Marines out here?"

"Not a clue, sir."

"Okay. Tell me about the casualties."

"There was one," He said solemnly. "With the condition that the body was in, we’re not able to I.D. him on scene."

Gibbs nodded. "My M.E. will be able to do that."

"We cleared the area of anymore explosives, it's protocol." Haune informed. "And we had to go in for the Petty Officer."

"The PO?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, sir." Haune nodded. "He was alive, just barely. He arrived at Saint James hospital close to 0600." Gibbs wrote down the name of the hospital. "Daniels said that your name is Gibbs, sir?" he asked out of the blue.

Gibbs looked at him. "That's right," his gaze was narrowed.

"Do you have a son, Agent Gibbs?" he asked, even more sketchy.

Haune was giving him a look, one that was making his gut act up. A sign that he couldn't ignore this time. "I do," he said slowly.

Haune was quiet for a moment and he even glanced away. "The Marine that was in the explosion, Agent Gibbs, was Petty Officer Shelby Jackson Gibbs." He said softly.

Now there was silence, everything background sound was muted. Blackout silence. Ears ringing, blood rushing. This was why his stomach was kicking up a fuss; his father calling him since 0600, why the news of a bomb going off in Cumberland had made him pause. The slamming of truck doors brought him back, and he was feeling foul. He gave himself a mental head-slap. "We'll contact you if we need anything else," Gibbs told the Lt.

"Of course, sir. I'll leave you to it." Haune gave a him a nod before he left.

Tony, Kate, McGee and Ducky came under the tape, Palmer following behind with a gurney. The M.E. and his assistant went straight to the body, while his team went to him for instructions.

"You're here already, boss." Tony voiced as they met Gibbs.

Gibbs turned to him. "And doing your job, DiNozzo." He growled and brushed passed them to meet with Ducky at the body, tucking his notebook into his jacket pocket. He needed to get to the hospital.

"Whoa!" Tony voiced as they followed Gibbs. "He wasn't like that on the phone," he muttered, stopping.

"Its what you bring out in people, Tony." Kate smirked.

"No." Tony shook his head. "This is something else."

"If you say so," She rolled her eyes as she passed him. He made a face at her back. "Mature," She told him, not needing to look over her shoulder to know what he did; he was predictable.

Tony looked at Tim. "What are you smirking at?"

Tim forced the curve from his lips. "Nothing," he passed Tony, and it came back up when he was out of the other man's view. But Tony's expression stayed sour as he was the last one to arrive at scene. He was not doing so good to get back in Gibbs' favour.

"What do you think, Ducky?" Gibbs asked the M.E., straight to the point and more briskly than usual.

Ducky glanced at the man before looking down at the badly burned body on the ground. Most of him was there, but most of both the Marine's legs weren't. "I believe that I can safely conclude that he was above the explosion when it occurred." He said as Kate was taking photos of the body.

"There were two, Duck." Gibbs told him.

"Well, _one_ of the explosions, then." Ducky corrected his original conclusion. And despite his mood, Gibbs' lips couldn't help but twitch. "Mr. Palmer," He addressed his assistant. "Would you be so kind as to find this poor fellow's legs?"

"U-um, of course, doctor." Palmer stammered out and scurried away to find the rest of the body.

"Call me when you have an I.D. would you, Duck?" Gibbs asked his friend.

"Of course, Jethro." Ducky agreed.

Gibbs nodded and turned from the coroner, heading back to his truck.

"What about us, boss?" Tony called.

"Do your job, DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped back, ducking under the tape and climbing into his truck, he didn't stop to address his team. They were all capable Field Agents and didn't need him to be there for their every move.

"Where is he going?" Tim asked when Tony didn't say anything more.

"Somewhere he needs to be, lad." Ducky supplied from his place crouched at the body, probably thinking he was helping.

"That was very cryptic of you, Ducky." Tim told him.

"That's just Gibbs, Timothy." Ducky agreed.

"So... normal, then." Kate smiled in agreement as well.

"No time for chit-chat, Todd." Tony snapped at her unnecessarily, his gaze still trained on where Gibbs had disappeared to. Finally, he looked at her. "Did I stutter?" he demanded.

"No." She glared at him. "But you will be if I get a hold of you." She growled at him through her teeth and they locked glares. Tim looked between the to of them with anxiety, maybe they did need Gibbs here.

" _Found one!_ " Palmer's cheer disrupted their argument and when they group looked to where the autopsy gremlin was, they saw that he had his arm stretched into the air and one of the Marine's legs in his hand, a smile in place. "Too much?" he asked them.

"Too happy," Tony told him.

"Right." Palmer nodded, lowering his arm as he came back over to them, his tone more solemn.

"Much better, Mr. Palmer." Ducky said as he took the leg.

"As Gibbs suggested," Tony said. "Let's do our jobs!"

**chapter I end--**


	3. II

If someone was ever going to break the barrier of the speed of light in a dodge truck, it would be Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It was something that he was near doing currently on his way to St. James hospital, and it was a miracle no cops were around to pull him over, not that they would be able to catch up to him if they were.

Gibbs wasn't a rusher, it wasn't in his nature. It wasn't him. If it was, he could never have been a proper scout sniper or killed the bastard that took away his wife and daughter. He would be out of the job if he did. So even though he rushed to get to the hospital, he didn't rush in to the front desk like a parent would of their child was in the hospital, but instead walked in like a Special Agent and flashed his badge at the nurse at the front desk.

"N.C.I.S." He said. "I'm here to see Gibbs, Shelby Jackson; he was brought in around 0600 in critical condition."

"I'm sorry, sir." The nurse told him, and Gibbs felt something harden in his stomach. "The patient is in the I.C.U., and not conscious. I cannot allow you to see him, even if he were. Only family is permitted." Gibbs looked at her, hard. He _was_ family!

"It's alright, Amy." Jackson spoke up from next to Gibbs. He nodded to her. "He's family."

Amy looked at him, her gaze flickering between the two, she could tell instantly that they were related. She pursed her lips. "If you're sure," She said.

He nodded. "Thank you," Jackson said.

Gibbs turned from her and faced his father, his face as read-less as any other day, but this was not any other day.

"I'm surprised that you showed, Jethro." Jackson told him. "After you didn't answer my calls,"

"I have a job to do, dad." Gibbs told him.

Jackson shook his head and turned away, heading back to his grandson's room in the I.C.U., Gibbs following after him. He stepped into the room and took the seat that was at Shelby's bedside; the one that he looked like he had been sitting on since he arrived at the hospital. "This is the only way you'll see him, isn't it?" he said.

Gibbs was silent as he stood at the foot of Shelby's hospital bed. The 27 year-old looked like anyone should after they've been thrown by the shock-wave of two explosions. He had burns on his face and arms, it was obvious that he had a concussion, he was covered in scrapes, lacerations and bruises. His right arm was in a sling because of a dislocated shoulder, a gash was at his hairline. His head was wrapped, his left eye and ear were bandaged as well. That was just what Gibbs could see, under the gown was a mystery. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, an I.V., he had oxygen going to his nose and a tube down his throat. Gibbs felt like a bastard, and rightly so. "You know that's completely unfair," he finally said, looking at Jackson.

"No. What's unfair is that you can't stand the sight of him because he looks like you when you were his age.' Jackson told his son, looking up from Shelby as well.

Gibbs glared at him. "I don't have time for this,"

"You don't have time for your _son_ , you mean." The older man corrected, standing up from his chair.

"Don't even start."

"You're right." Jackson agreed. "Even though he's unconscious, he shouldn't hear this."

"You done?" Gibbs questioned.

"Not yet." Jackson turned from his son and opened the cabinet that was next to the window, and too out a bag. He tossed it to Gibbs, who caught it. "I had them save everything that they took off Shelby. Thought that it might help. So do your job, Jethro, and find out who nearly killed my grandson."

Gibbs locked gazes with his father as he held the clear bag full of his son's uniform and everything else. Yes, he wasn't on the greatest terms with his father since he left for the Marines at 18, and the same went for Shelby since Shannon and Kelly were killed. But they were his family; Shelby was his last connection with Shannon and he shoved that away-- But no one messes with his family and gets away with it. He nodded to his father, and with one last glance at Shelby, he left the two of them. He needed to get these to Abby and find out who else was with his son in that field.

Jackson sighed and sat back in the chair, he was careful as he took Shelby's good hand in his. "He means well, your father." He told the unconscious man.

**chapter II end--**

 


	4. III

When Gibbs got back to N.C.I.S. Headquarters, he went straight down to Abby's lab, with the stuff that he had gotten from the hospital. But not before he got her Caf-Pow!

He knew that something was wrong when he walked into her lab and she was nowhere in sight, her usual screeching music absent in the air. "Abby?" he called.

"Here, Gibbs." She spoke softly and suddenly that he almost jumped.

He turned to her. "I brought you two things." He told her. "Evidence to process," he held out the bag of Shelby's things. "And a favourite of yours," he showed her the caffeine drink. She looked at him with pursed lips though, not at all looking happy like she usually was. "Abs?" he questioned in concern.

"Gibbs," she sighed as she took the items from him; she set the bag down by her table which was filled with tagged pieces from the bomb and set the drink on her desk. "My silver-haired fox, boss man," she continued in the same tone. Gibbs watched her with raised brows as she spun back around to him. "I have news, news for you." She put her hands on either of his shoulders.

"I'm listening," He told her.

"Good," she nodded. "I'm here for you."

"You're always _here_ , Abby. That's what I like about you," he said with humour.

"This is no laughing matter, Gibbs!" She protested, taking her hands back.

"So tell me what _this_ is." He asked her.

"I know," she told him simply.

"Okay. What is it that you know?"

"I know that you have a son." She told him, her arms now crossed over her chest, a nod in place.

"Abby." He bit out. _Now was not the time._

"Gibbs!" She protested.

"Did you process the bomb?" He asked her instead.

"You're avoiding," She pouted.

"Abby." He growled.

Abby looked at him for a moment longer, measuring if she should plough on. Gibbs did treat her special, but if she barged into something that was about his family, she knew that he would actually smack her like he did the others. She didn't want that. It would mean that she wasn't special anymore. "I did," She grumped, not happy about it though. She turned to her table. "T.K.T. collected enough pieces that I can cleanly state that there was in fact a bomb; I got wires, plastic from what seems to be a timer, the burned pieces of what looks to be a mercury switch. C4 was the explosive, but I also found traces of modeling-clay on the burnt remnants of the paper that they were wrapped in."

"Modeling-clay?" Gibbs asked her. "They mix it with the C4 to delude it?"

Abby shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. I ran it, and it seems pure, just modeling-clay."

"What would be the point in that?" He asked her.

"That's your job." She told him.

Gibbs looked at her. "Just take a swing, would you."

Abby looked back at him for a long moment, Gibbs never liked it when they guessed; it must be worse than she thought. She didn't want to anger him anymore than was necessary, so she took a stab instead of a swing. "Since the clay and the C4 was not mixed together, I guess it was to make the bomb look bigger than it really was."

Gibbs nodded; it was a possibility. "And what about the other device?"

"From the small piece that were collected... I ran it through my bomb database and found a match; it was a landmine..." She told him.

"Good work," He told her, and he kissed her cheek. "Drink you Caf-Pow! and keep at it." he ordered her as he left.

"Right." She agreed, finally taking a drink of the much needed substance.

**chapter III break...**

Gibbs went to Ducky; he needed to know who it was that was with Shelby since his son was still unable to say much. "Ducky," He greeted the doctor as the autopsy doors slid closed behind him.

"Ah, Jethro." Ducky looked up from the folder that was laid out on the empty autopsy table next to the occupied one. "How was your visit to the hospital?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was prying.

Gibbs looked at him. "Abby told you," He concluded easily.

"Yes," The M.E. didn't even try to deny it. "You know her. How are you holding up?"

"Abby said you got an I.D. on our Marine." Gibbs said, coming over to the table and looking down on the burned remains of the Naval Officer sadly. No one should have to go out like that, especially at home base and during what was supposed to be a training exercise.

"You're avoiding the question," Ducky pointed out gently.

Gibbs glared at him. "I'm working a case, Ducky. This Marine was killed at home field in what was supposed to be a safe and controlled training exercise. We're not supposed to be fighting terrorists in our backyards. Now tell me who he is, Ducky." His voice was hard.

Ducky sighed as he looked from Gibbs to the Marine on his table. "I was able to get a dental impression and I ran it through the database. I also was able to find a piece of flesh that wasn't to badly burned and sent it up to Abigail to confirm. Who we have here in our presence is Commander Jeff Reynolds." He told the other man. "The explosions is what killed him; he was dead before he touched ground."

"Did you give--" Gibbs started, but Ducky finished for him: "Give it to Tony? Yes."

"That’s good, Duck." Gibbs nodded to the doctor and turned away, heading for the doors.

"Jethro?" Ducky called to him.

Gibbs stopped and sighed. "He's in the I.C.U., Ducky. My dad's with him," He told the man and walked through the doors, but not before Ducky called out to him: "You can't burry this, Jethro. It'll do no good." He ignored the doctor as he got into the elevator and headed up to the bullpen.

Ducky turned back to the Marine. "It looks like this will be more personal and emotional for our fearless leader, finding your killer."

**chapter III end--**

　

　


	5. IV

Gibbs' day had been particularly dirty and his only reprieve was the minute ride up in the elevator. He hadn't had his usual morning-work coffee yet, usually by this time he'd have had consumed 10. But not this morning, nor this afternoon. It did not improve his mood, so his team better have something that was of use, or he knew three heads that were going to roll.

He left the elevator like a force not to be reckoned with. The Agents that filled the path from the elevator to his office, scurried from his path. He stepped through the threshold and Tony shot from his seat, the plasma remote in hand. "You're back, boss." The Senior Agent so keenly observed.

Gibbs put his firearm in his top drawer before he shoved it shut roughly. "It looks that way, doesn't it, DiNozzo." He growled hotly. He thought about giving his Agent a head-smack, but didn't because he knew that with the mood he was in, he'd probably give the younger man a concussion-- something that he didn't have time to deal with.

"Right." Tony winced as he glanced at Kate behind her own desk before he looked back at Gibbs who was glaring hotly at him. "We did in fact, do out jobs." He winced again, not able to stop it before he continued. "Ducky got an I.D. on our dead Marine and I pulled his service record." He clicked the remote and a service picture came up on the screen. "This is Commander Jeff Reynolds, 52. He joined the Marine Corps. at the age of 20. His specialty is Explosive Ordinates Disposal. He had four tours under his belt, with two purple hearts. He has since then become a training officer for other Marine Bomb Techs. He has no disciplinary actions in his record or flags and was even coming into a promotion of becoming a Captain. He was married for 20 years to Sheila Reynolds and they have a 15 year-old daughter. They had just recently gotten divorced; almost seven months ago; Sheila got full custody of their kid." He finished and there was a deathly beat of silence, one that Kate could not have jumped onto fast enough in Tony's opinion.

"I spoke with his unit." She drew Gibbs' gaze and Tony felt relief that it was directed at someone else, something that the female Agent didn't quite agree on, now when it was directed at her. But she continued, "They basically all said the same thing: Reynolds was a good guy, a great Marine; he was good a what he did and he knew how to teach others to do it. And, as Tony had said, the Commander didn't have any listed complaints against him." 

There was that silence again as she finished, but it was even longer this time because of Tim. He was a wreck at any given day when he was put under the harmful spotlight of Gibbs' glare, but this was even worse. He knew that Gibbs was not in the mood for his stuttering mess, but Tim was not able to help the fact that he stuttered for a moment before he was able to finally get anything worth understanding out of his mouth. He licked his lips and swallowed. "I-I went through the Commander's phone records and there was nothing that looked unusual; phone call's to his daughter mostly. His bank-records, on the other hand, were another story." He paused for just a second, taking a breath. "There has been major activity in his savings account this last month. He's moved everything he's had around. Most of his money went into his daughter's college-fund account, the rest went to paying off the mortgage on his wife's house, and to various charities. His accounts were completely empty as of two days ago."

There was once again another beat of silence for which the three Agents were silent and the shadow that had accompanied Gibbs form the elevator was seemingly growing darker by the second. 

Tony spoke once again when no one else would, drawing that glare. "I spoke with Lt. Haune again after you left, Gibbs. And with documents from the Command Post, confirmed that there was, in fact, no training exercise scheduled to go down in that field where the victim was found. It's not part of the Base's contract that they were allowed to use that area in Cumberland. In fact, I pretty sure that the Commander knew that, so there's no reason why those two Marines should have even been down there, boss."

"They were, DiNozzo. And I want to know why!" Gibbs snapped.

"Right, boss." Tony agreed.

"Well, if the Commander didn't know that they were supposed to be out, he would have thought that it was just a normal training exercise." Kate started, speculating. "So, then he never would have had the need to suspect that the devices, were, in fact, very real."

"Ghost orders?" Tim asked. "Maybe the Commander did know, but someone went around the channels and somehow found a way to get him out there, off-guard. It'd look just like an accident, a training exercise gone off the rails wrong." He speculated himself.

"Ducky found a piece of one of the devices embedded in Reynolds flesh, it was a landmine." Gibbs said, finally. " _If_ this was a set up, there was no way that this bastard would have known which Marine, if any, would step on it."

"They were both targets, maybe?" Tony voiced. "Or maybe one would just be collateral damage."

"You know I hate maybes." Gibbs growled at them. "Assumptions make me sick."

The Team winced, but that lead to what had to be said next, and what the female Agent was dreading, and wondering why she got stuck with it. "The other Marine," Kate said with hesitation as she stood from her chair, a folder in hand. "Was Petty Officer Shelby Jackson Gibbs." Tony pressed the remote and Reynolds' picture was replaced by Shelby's. Kate continued with the same amount of hesitation as she glanced from the plasma to Gibbs before going back to the folder in her hand. "He joined right out of high school at the age of 18. His specialty is scout sniper. He's been on one tour. He got back ten months ago and was assigned to the Cumberland Base when he requested a transfer to E.O.D. Unit. He had been training under Commander Reynolds since then." She paused for a moment before continuing, "I talked with the other Marines that trained with the PO, and with Reynolds, they all said the same thing: He was a nice, didn't make trouble. They never saw him with a girlfriend. He lives off-base in Stillwater, Pennsylvania."

This time, Tim didn't give himself enough time to stutter, by started with his report the second he knew that Kate was finished. He knew that Gibbs was pissed, but letting him stew in the silence would make things even worse. "There's nothing out of the ordinary with the PO's phone records, or savings history." It wasn't much and it didn't really help them, these two Marines were clean thus far, there was something that they were missing, and it wasn't helping their chances with Gibbs. 

And Gibbs _didn't_ look happy. "Abby found traces of modeling clay on the pieces of the bomb that were collected." He reported, his tone matching his expression; hard.

"Modeling clay?" Tim said in confusion, a mistake on his part because now Gibbs was focused in on him, he looked back rather anxiously and frozen.

Tony winced again, and spoke anyway. "You thinking that it was part of the bomb, boss?" He asked.

"It's looking that way." Gibbs said.

"More flash than bang?" Kate must have said something wrong because Gibbs' gaze zoomed in on her like a snipers laser.

"Flash?" He growled. "A Marine is dead, Todd. My son is in the I.C.U.! Does that seem more _flash_ to you than a _bomb?_ " He shouted, demanded.

Kate may have been in the Secret Service, protected the President of the United States of America, but anything she did or would have encountered there was nothing compared to Gibbs on a good day, but now, now she was actually frightened. She fought not to pale or baulk. "No, Gibbs." She told him.

"Good." He said through his teeth. "Now find something that we can _use_ to find this bastard!" He barked at his team.

"Um, we haven't interviewed the Commander's ex-wife yet." Tony was quick to say. "Kate and I will do that now." He looked at Kate with a pointed gaze, and the two scrambled for their gear and were quick to get to the elevator. It would be late when they got there, but the long drive would be worth it to get away from Gibbs, even if the meant leaving Tim hanging in the wind. That was exactly where Gibbs' gaze went when his two Agents' back disappeared around the corner.

Tim looked up at him and swallowed, angry that the two of them left him alone. "I'll, uh, I'll go check and see how Abby's doing with the processing." He almost tripped from his chair to his feet as he walked, nearly ran, to the back elevator and down to the sanctuary of her lab.

That left Gibbs, alone in his office, though the bullpen was filled with Case Agents. His company, a Service picture of his son up on the plasma. Jackson had been right, Shelby looked a lot like him when he was that age, though his hair a little lighter, a near reddish-brown, even with a Marine hair-cut. But something that stood out more than that, were his eyes. They weren't an ice-blue like his own, like he may have wished them. Instead, they were a peacock-green. It was the main reason why Gibbs had pushed him away after the death of Shannon and Kelly; because they were his wife's eyes, and his daughter's eyes. Every time the older man looked at his son, he was reminded of them, of what he had lost and could never get back.

Gibbs was finally able to tear his gaze away from the screen, from his son. He needed to do something, _had_ to do something. He knew what it was, he should have done it to begin with while he was at the hospital-- but things had gotten out of hand, going places that he had tried to burry. But, still, he needed to talk with his father.

**chapter IV end--**

 


	6. V

Gibbs had called his father, multiple times, in fact, and had gotten the same treatment he had given Jackson in the morning. So, in order for Gibbs to talk with him, he was going to have to go to the hospital to do so.

The ride to St. James' hospital, was the actual full two hours this time. He didn't speed, didn't run any red lights on this go. He could have sent one of his team, but he wanted to keep this one close to the chest, even as much as he wanted to shove it away. But this was his family and he knew that it was something that _he_ had to do.

It was late, and dark, when he finally arrived at the hospital. He didn't stop at the front desk, but went straight to his son's room. The lights were dimmed, and he expected to see Jackson in that same chair by Shelby's bedside, but he didn't, the chair was empty. That made him stop, he didn't think that his father would have left, but would in fact find a way to stay the night.

Gibbs found himself stepping up to his son's side, he was still unconscious, never a good sign. He closed his eyes for a moment, heh, and memories of the past were making their way to the surface of his brain. The appearance of his father saved him, and he released breath.

"You came back." A sound of surprise in the older man's voice as he walked around his son and grandson back to his chair, the Styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand finding it's place on the bed-table. "But not here for your son." His voice was rough, tired.

"I have a job to do, dad." Gibbs said, his eyes still looking down at Shelby.

"Yes. You've told me that already."

Gibbs glared over at him; nothing brang up the anger in him like that condescending-parent tone. "I need to ask some questions... about Shelby's personal life." He said through his teeth.

"If there was something concerning enough, I would have told you when you first arrived." Jackson told him. "If it was something that concerning, I would have called you long before this. You know that, Jethro-- Being as you're the boy's father."

"That's not what this is about," He growled.

"I disagree." Jackson said, "This _is_ about your son, the one that you fathered for twelve years before you abandoned him when he needed you the most."

"I didn't abandon him." Gibbs glanced away from Jackson, to the floor from his son. He looked back. "I was fighting a war."

"One within yourself," His father countered. "One that your son thinks that he needs to continue."

"He's nothing like me!"

"No." Jackson agreed with his son, a rare moment. "But he's tried to be. Tried to replace the absent father from within himself by becoming you; trying to be a man that his father would be proud of-- the one that he _still_ looks up to." Gibbs' lips were tight and his expression hard but cracked; Jackson was getting way to invested into this and it was starting to piss him off. "Shelby had the paperwork filled out to join the Corps. the day that he turned eighteen so that he would be ready to join the day after his Graduation Ceremony." He looked up at him and said slowly, "He had plans to go to college since he was ten, Jethro-- Like Shannon wanted."

"Don't you dare throw her name around!" Gibbs snapped; bringing up his dead wife was uncalled for.

"I don't throw her name around, you know how felt about her." He said, his voice softening for a moment. He knew that things had never been the same between them since Shannon and Kelly, and Gibbs leaving Shelby with him while he went God knows where. But he had to speak up on Shelby's behalf because he knew that the boy never would, even after everything, he loved his father too much. "This is not about Shannon, this is about Shelby."

"No. That's where _you're_ wrong." Gibbs told him, the walls coming up. "This is about a possible terrorist." He did what he did with Abby and Ducky this morning, avoiding, changing the subject-- something that he never did.

Jackson usual soft and compassionate expression now matched his son's at the mention of work. If Gibbs wanted to make this about the job, then Jackson would let him. He wanted to know about Shelby's personal life, the one that he had torn out of fifteen years before, then he would all but spoon feed the man. He nodded, but Gibbs didn't look happy either way. "He has no social life, whatsoever. He's never had a girlfriend-- or a boyfriend-- I don't think he's ever had sex. When he's not at the base, he's working with me at the store. He was the same when he was a kid; since he was sixteen. He did track , joined karate classes, the wrestling team. Now, he runs, boxes at the gym. He makes no trouble and it's not because he doesn't talk to anyone-- you know that since he was a kid he was a none-stop chatterbox-- but things change, don't they, Jethro?" He asked.

Gibbs was quiet; what was he supposed to say. "What do you want from me, dad?" He finally said, his voice soft instead of sharp.

Jackson stood up from his chair and looked at his son, letting out a sad breath, his ice-blue eyes the same with emotion. "I want you to realize that you had two children, Jethro. That even though you lost your daughter, you didn't lose your son-- and you still haven't." His eyes were shiny as they filled with tears.

It was quiet, the only sounds were the soft hiss of the respirator, and the continuous beep of the heart monitor. Gibbs looked back at him, his gut filled with emotion. His lips were pursed as he breathed through his nose in shallow and emotional breaths. His own vision was getting a little blurry as he as he felt tears prick his eyes. He forced them away, though, and it took effort to do so. "I have to go, dad." He said through the lump in his throat. He glanced from his father to his son, before he turned and walked away, but not before he heard his father's rough voice at his back.

"You've changed, Jethro. And so has he..."

**chapter V end--**

 


	7. VI

Gibbs sent everyone home. There was nothing else that could be done. It was late, everyone was stressed, _he_ was stressed. And it wasn't long before he went home as well, but not to bed like he should have, and instead found himself down in his basement at 0200. _That_ was nothing new, but for the fact that he wasn't working on his boat, and instead going through old boxes.

After Shannon and Kelly died, Gibbs had packed everything up. He didn't keep but a few boxes down under his basement stairs, and the rest went to storage. He hadn't touched them in 15 years-- until now. The sudden re-entry of his son was bringing up past memories.

He opened the top flap on the box, it was covered in a thick layer of dust. Anyone who wasn't Gibbs would have thought that the contents in this box were just junk, but to him, even though he had not interacted with these objects personally, he had a deep connection with those who did.

First was a tin lunch box, pink and with flowers, inside was a doll; this had been his precious little girl's. But that wasn't the only thing; at the bottom, he found the tape. It only took a second before he dumped the box to the floor and was out of the stool, thrashing through the drawers in his desk for a tape player. He slipped the tape in and pressed play.

At first, there was the light fuzz and Gibbs thought that it was at the end of the tape, but then there was a few pops and a voice came through the attached speaker; it was a voice he could recognize since he was eighteen-- Shannon. He let her voice wash over him like a warm wave. His shoulders were relaxing as Kelly's giggling voice wasn't afraid to jump in over her mother. It didn't matter what they were saying, just to hear the sound of their voices again, even if pre-recorded, was nearly enough-- running over him like the padded-feet of a rabbit. To just hear his girls again, talking and giggling. He found his eyes closing, he stayed that way even after his two favourite voices faded and he got the fuzz as the tape continued to roll.

His eyes snapped open soon after, though, when there was a few more pops and another voice came over the speaker. This one was familiar, too, but it wasn't either Shannon or Kelly's. The two of them always made a tape for him when he went on tour; Shelby would slip in and say "hi," and then send letters the rest of the time-- something that seemed surprising for someone who had been so yabba-yabba when he was a kid. But not this time, because here was Shelby was, talking away.

This must've been a tape that Shannon wasn't able to send out to him before she and Kelly were killed.

This time, Gibbs listened to what his some was saying and he couldn't believe. Shelby was talking about how Shannon wasn't telling him everything about the case and how she was going to testify so that Kelly didn't have to. How he would stay with them and keep them safe until Gibbs could get back and do it-- _promised, sw_ _ore._ Gibbs found tears pricking his eyes for a moment as Shelby's finishing line was: "I love you, dad. I'll make you proud."

Gibbs rewound it before he played it again, listening to the last part of the tape; Shelby telling him he loved him and would make him proud. Gibbs knew that when he got back from Panama with the news of Shannon and Kelly deaths on his shoulders, he could have been the father that he needed to be, to Shelby. That he _should_ have been to his son. And this, hearing his 12 year-old son telling him that he loved him and would do everything to make him proud-- it finally hit home what Jackson had been trying to tell him for years.

He had _two_ children-- not just Kelly. So, instead of the revenge mission that he had gone on, he should have been thinking of Shelby, who was going through the same thing that he was. Gibbs thought about how guilty he felt-- how he still felt-- he promised Shannon and Kelly that it would be the last time he would go away like that, and it had been, so he realized with the voice of his son, that they had been aboard the same ship longer than he realized.

He played the tape again, and again, letting the 12 year-old's voice slam over him like a tanker as he dozed off soaked in guilt.

**chapter VI end--**

　


	8. VII

Gibbs jerked away at 0500 sharp, his body cramped from sitting on the stool for so long, the battery life in the tape player having long since drained. He sat there for a moment, just remembering, before he stood and stretched out his kinked muscles with a groan. He swallowed down the cold cup of coffee from the night before and went up stairs. He changed his clothes, not bothering to shower before he drove to HQ.

It was still grey out and no light leaked through the bullpen sky-light. The main lights were off, no one was there, only the desk lights in his office were turned on, casting a glow. He spotted Tony and Tim, but not Kate.

"Hey, boss." Tony said at the sight of Gibbs, and the two Agents stood and watched him nervously.

"Where's Todd?" Was the first thing that Gibbs asked.

"Uh," Tim stammered.

Gibbs looked at him. "Spit it out, McGee." If he wasn't in a good mood before, what made them think he was now?

"We tried calling your cell, boss." Tim told him, not spitting it out in the least.

"Your father called us, Gibbs, when he couldn't get a hold of you." Tony jumped in after a glance at Tim, and Gibbs' stomach hardened with impending news. "Petty Officer Gibbs woke up an hour ago. Kate's on her way to the hospital-- we were about to come and get you."

Gibbs gut softened. He wasn't sure how he felt about Kate going to the hospital, but he guessed it was for the best. "What did you and Kate get when you talked to the ex-wife?" He asked his Senior Agent, getting this out of the way so that he could get out of here and to the hospital to see his son.

"She said that the divorce was a long time coming; Reynolds was never home. She _was_ surprised by the money in her daughter's account, and she told us where he moved to." Tony told him. "McGee and I were going to check out when you got in."

"Well?" Gibbs demanded when they didn't move. "What are you waiting for?"

"We are not here, boss." Tony was quick to say as he already had his gun on his belt and his bag in hand, already rushing to the elevator and leaving Tim behind. "Come on, McSlow!" He shouted as Tim was scrambling to get his things and not be left behind. The younger Agent barely made it through the closing doors. "You tryin' to kill us?" Tony demanded. Tim glared back.

Gibbs wanted to get out of here and to St. James hospital, and nothing here was preventing him from doing so. If Abby had found anything on Shelby's things, she knew better than to hold it back, especially this last day, so he headed out. And he now had a good reason to drive fast, not that he never had one any other time.

He wasn't sure how he felt about his team meeting his family; his father and his son. But just Kate was a different story. Gibbs was friends with her like he was with Ducky, and he knew that she wouldn't screw this up. Her with Shelby was better than thinking him with DiNozzo.

**chapter VII break...**

Kate wasn't sure how Gibbs was going to react to the fact that she was down here at the hospital. They had no other choice, the three Agents had to decide in the absence of Gibbs, that it would be better if she went -- the reasons went unsaid but were easily known. They needed to treat this like any other case and question the witness-- not alone, but when Gibbs got there.

She flashed her badge at the front desk and was led to Shelby's room. She was kind of nervous to what she was going to walk in on, this _is_ Gibbs' son after all.

**chapter VII break...**

Shelby had been awake for nearly four hours now, and was already feeling better. His grandfather was there when he came to, chocking on the tube that was down his throat. That wasn't a surprise, and neither was the fact that his father wasn't. While the fact still hurt, that was not the fore-most on his mind-- but how he had ended up in the hospital, and the implications of that same event.

He had been having trouble remembering, and Jackson wasn't saying much on anything. But he had finally been able to convince the man to leave, Jackson wouldn't go home to Stillwater, but had instead gone and gotten a hotel room. It wasn't what Shelby had wanted, but it was better than the older man staying here all day.

He was halfway sitting up in the bed, the head up, his arm was still in the sling as he tried to process through it. His eye and ear were bandaged and at the knock at the door, he had to turn his head quite a bit to get a proper view. "Come in," He told them. He knew that it wasn't Jackson, his grandpa wouldn’t knock and he knew that his father wouldn't either, the doctors and nurses didn't need to. And if any of them looked the way that this woman did, he would go insane. Shelby didn't know who she was yet, but she was beautiful.

"PO Gibbs?" She asked as she stepped into his room. "I'm Special Agent Kate Todd, I work at N.C.I.S." She showed him her badge.

Shelby nodded. "Do you work with my father?" He asked her, not able to tear his gaze away.

"I do." She told him. "I wanted to ask a couple of questions about what happened to you, PO. If that's okay?" Kate knew that she told herself she was going to wait until Gibbs was here, and he would probably be pissed when he got here, but there was a possible bomber out there, and she would get smacked if this was another case and she waited.

"Of course," He told her. "You can have a seat."

"Thanks," She gave him a gentle smile and took the chair that Jackson had claimed, now making it hers. She settled and took her notebook out and crossed her ankles as she looked at him. She'd seen his service picture, but he looked totally different now. Him being Gibbs' son, she'd expected him to have his eyes, but Shelby didn't. She licked her lips before she started. "I'm not sure if you've been told about Commander Reynolds, and I hate to be the one to have to tell you... but he was killed in the explosion." She told him as gently as she could.

There was silence as the information injected itself harshly into his brain, and everything else seemed to fall back into place. The Commander was dead. His Commanding Officer... His eye danced around her face, as he tried to process through this. It was probably his fault, too. He let out a breath and never took his sad gaze from her. "I couldn’t disable to bomb properly." He told her in shame.

Kate looked into his green eyes; she wanted to say something comforting like: _you can't blame yourself._ But when had that ever helped anyone? Instead, she continued her line of questioning. "What were you doing out in that field, PO?"

Shelby swallowed before he answered. "We were doing a training exercise," He told her. " _That_ was nothing new; we'd been doing them all week, but yesterday? There wasn't one  scheduled that morning. It was last minute,"

"And you didn't question that?" She asked him.

"Why would I question that?" He asked her in confusion. "I was given an assignment."

"Okay," She nodded.

"If I questioned him," He said softly. "I would be dead, too." His voice cracked.

"I'm sorry," She told him with sincerity, and his shoulders sunk. "Had the Commander been acting odd lately?"

"No." Shelby shook his head as he answered her. "We didn't have contact outside of the base, but I knew that he'd gotten a divorce. And if anything had changed with him, it was that he seemed even more committed to his duty."

"Do you know if he had any enemies?"

"If Commander Reynolds did, he never told me about it."

"Okay. If you're ready," Kate asked him next, "Could you tell me what happened that morning?"

Shelby's single-eyed gaze looked her up and down; he knew that his father worked at N.C.I.S., knew that when he was unconscious he had come and visited (that was one thing that Jackson did tell him). "Are you sure that we shouldn't wait for my father?" He asked her.

"No. She was right to start without me."

Shelby closed his eye and gripped the sheet in his hand at Gibbs' sudden appearance. He hadn't heard or seen him coming. He had a ringing in his ear and because of his bandaged eye, his sight was cut in half. He was so focused on Kate that everything else seemed irrelevant. But now that his dad was here, it was different. His head twisted and his father appeared in his sight-line. At Gibbs' sudden appearance, he wasn’t sure who seemed more tense, Kate or himself. "Dad?" Shelby voiced, almost awkwardly. He hadn't seen Gibbs for a long time and now that he finally had, it was because he had landed in the hospital. But this awkwardness soon turned into something else, almost what he felt when Gibbs got back from tour. "You're here," He pushed himself more up-right.

Gibbs looked at his son and saw the way that Shelby was looking at him; his green eyes shinning. It reminded him of when Shelby was kid and the guilt in his gut kicked in. "Where's your grandpa?" He asked; this was delicate with Kate here.

"I convinced him to get some rest," Shelby told him with a little pride.

"He went back to Stillwater?" Gibbs asked in surprise, but Shelby shook his head.

"He wouldn't go home, and got a hotel room instead." He corrected.

"Huh," Gibbs smirked for a second before he shook his head, of course Jackson wouldn't go home, not while Shelby was still in the hospital. He looked back at his son after a glance at Kate. "How're you holding up, Shelby?" He asked as he found himself sitting on the edge of the bed by his son's knees.

"I'm okay," Shelby told him softly. "But Commander Reynolds was a good man; I would be dead if it wasn't for him. You have to find who did this, dad." He pleaded, if anyone could, it was his dad.

"Okay." Gibbs patted his leg through the blanket, finding that he didn't have to force the action. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Shelby nodded. "I've already told Agent Todd most of this, but... We weren't supposed to have an exercise that morning, but orders change. The Commander and myself got our gear and went to the field; there, we located the device. We were slow on approach, Reynolds was five feet behind and two paces to the left of myself. I arrived at the device when Reynolds communed to me that he had stepped on a secondary device underfoot; he gave me orders to proceed with disarming the primary bomb."

"Good," Gibbs nodded to his son, his hand still on his knee for comfort. "Can you describe the bomb?"

Shelby nodded, licking his lips as he closed his eye and remembered. "There were five blocks of C-4, stacked to make a square with the fifth block on the top. On the fifth block, there was a timer, next to that was a mercury switch, and emitting from those two objects were wires connected to the explosives." Gibbs nodded again and Kate was quick to write the description. "I cut the correct wire and the timer stopped. I started removing the electrodes from the clay, but..." He trailed off, trying to calm his breath as he looked at him father.

"But...?" Kate asked after a glance at Gibbs.

Shelby licked his lips again. "The clock restarted. There was a secondary connection that I missed!" He almost said in confusion because he didn't understand, him disarming it the first time must have activated the second trigger. "We tried our radios and got static. I wanted to try and disarm it; what would be the harm? It was a dummy bomb, right? I would learn something new, no harm, but it was like Reynolds knew that something wasn’t right." Shelby was upset now, as he continued, closing in on the event. Both Gibbs and Kate were quiet as Shelby continued to recount the story. "He ordered me to run, and-and I-I questioned him, dad! But then I ran, I ran away and the bomb exploded! I could feel the heat on my back, dirt being thrown everywhere as I was thrown into the air. And then the secondary device went off and I could hear Reynolds scream as I hit the ground--" He choked to a halt. His eye was now filled with tears ready to spill over as he looked at his father in desperation. "If I had stayed, I could have disarmed it. He would still be alive if I wasn't a coward and ran!" Shelby cried.

Gibbs took his son in his arms, and Shelby buried his injured head in his father's shoulder; the last time they had hugged was when Shannon and Kelly died. "You did nothing wrong, Shelby." He told his son, his voice rough. "If you had stayed, then I would have lost you too." Kate discreetly made her exit, then. And Gibbs couldn't believe that it had taken him this long to realize that he could have lost Shelby when Shannon and Kelly died, and he could still loose him now.

"I want you to be proud of me, dad." Shelby sobbed into the material of his shirt. "I don't want you to think me a coward."

Gibbs leaned back and looked his son in his puffy, wet, green eye. "I could never think of you as a coward, son. And I've been proud of you since the day you were born and nothing has changed that."

That made Shelby cry even more and he hugged Gibbs hard with his good arm. He'd been waiting so long for a moment like this; 15 years. It didn't matter that he had to almost blow up for it to happen; he'd go through this again and again if it meant he got his father back.

**chapter VII break...**

Things had calmed down and Shelby sat back, his eye red, the bandage over his left eye damp.

"We're going to catch the bastard who did this, Shelby." Gibbs promised, something that he never breaks.

"I know you will, dad." Shelby agreed, proud of his father.

Gibbs looked at his son and let out a breath. "I want you to stay at home with me when you get out of the hospital." Gibbs decided as he wiped his thumb across Shelby's cheek.

"Home?" Shelby repeated; he hadn't been home in years. Of course, after his mom and sister died, Stillwater had become his home, but before that, it was that house. "What about grandpa?" He asked.

"I think that he would agree." Gibbs told him in a tone that suggested he knew something that the younger man didn't.

But Shelby looked troubled. "I don't want to be any trouble, dad. You have a job to do," He protested.

"I _am_ doing my job, Shelby." Gibbs said. "We still don't know who set that bomb out there, or who the real target was, and until we do, you're in danger." He growled  angrily.

Shelby's eyes darted across Gibbs' face as he licked his lips. "If that's what you want." He said with a small smile touching his lips.

Gibbs sighed and rolled his eyes a little, he knew that Shelby wanted him to say it, and he would. "It is." Shelby tried hard now not to smile big. "When are they discharging you?" He changed the subject.

"My left eardrum was ruptured," He touched the bandage. "The doctors didn't want to do surgery to repair it while I was unconscious, so they're going to do it later today."

Gibbs nodded. "And your eye?" His tone was a little more worried.

Shelby could understand why, and of course he was too; if his sight was anyway impaired, he'd get medically discharge from the Marine Corps. And while being a sniper had not been his first choice when he turned 18, things change when you're 12. "They said that explosive particles got into my retina; there's nothing they can do about that. Either it clears up or it doesn't." He bit his lips for a moment. "They earliest I can leave is tomorrow."

This time, Gibbs was the that licked his lips as he felt butterflies in his gut. He took his hand from his son's cheek and squeezed his good hand as he looked into the puffy, mirror image of Shannon's eyes. "Everything is going to be fine, Shelby. You hear me?" He demanded. "Don't make me repeat myself." He growled with father-like protection and fear. "I'm going to leave Agent Todd with you while I'm gone, okay."

Shelby furrowed his brows. "You just said I was okay!" He protested, but he didn't know why. He kinda liked _Agent Todd_. Gibbs gave him his patent stare, one that suggested his son might just get a head-slap despite the concussion. Shelby was quick to go meek despite him being a fearless Marine, this was his dad! " _There's still the possibility of a bomber out there,"_ He read his father's gaze.

"You're learning." Gibbs praised and Shelby couldn't help the smile. "You'll be fine with Todd, she's a good Agent and friend." He said as he finally stood from the bed. "She was even with the Secret Service before she joined N.C.I.S." He snuck in there for assurance before he left the room to find Todd who wasn't that far away. He collected her notes before he left back to HQ, and sent her back to her new charge.

"Looks like I'm going to be sticking around for a while." Kate told Shelby with a smile as she walked into the room and claimed the chair once more as her own.

Shelby smiled back. "You protected the President?" He asked as he watched her. It was a conversation starter and he was keen to know more about her.

She grinned back at him and Shelby could swear that she even blushed at little as she gazed at him. "I did, Petty Officer."

"Please, Shelby." He may have flirted a tad.

"Kate," She returned in the same matter.

**chapter VII end--**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hint Hint! :)


	9. VIII

When Gibbs arrived back at the office, Tony and Tim were there, where they were supposed to be. He wanted this solved, so they'd better have something or he was going to dish out some much needed headslaps; something that had been lacking these past two days.

"What'd you find?" He asked.

"The apartment was empty, boss." Tony told Gibbs from behind his desk.

"What do you mean, empty?" Gibbs demanded, looking down at him.

"None of Reynolds' stuff was there," Tony said. "We talked to the landlord, and he said that Reynolds just up and went suddenly. The weeks prior there was a lot of activity, and then the day before the accident, he was gone. Moved out."

Gibbs was silent. He didn't like where all the coming evidence was adding up to. "Is that all?"

"Yeah." Tony said, albeit nervously. "What are you thinking, boss?" He asked, noticing Gibbs, expression.

"I'm thinking that there's no third-party involved in this." Gibbs growled.

Tim raised his brows in suprise at that. "No third-party?" He questioned.

"So, who...?" Tony started and stood when he realized. "Reynolds!"

Gibbs nodded.

"A suicide?"

"Well, that does fit." Tim spoke up.

The two men looked at the youngest Agent.

Tim stammered a little at the attention. "What I, uh, mean, is that Commander Reynolds' wife and daughter were his only life outside the Corps, and with the divorse, he had nothing left. If he, uh... if Reynolds died while on active duty, his daughter would be the one that got his pension after death."

"Ooh," Tony caught on. "And a bomb exploding during what was supposed to be just a training exercise would be the perfect plan."

"The perfect plan would be my son not dying in the explsion as well." Gibbs told Tony. "Shelby said that by the way Reynolds acted, he knew that the bomb was real."

"So, what's the plan, boss?" Tony questioned.

"Find me a suicide note," Gibbs ordered his agents, and went to the back elevator. He would show the design that Shelby told Kate and himself to Abby, and see what the exuberant goth came up with.

\--x

"I've got something for you, Abs." Gibbs said as he walked into Abby's lab.

"Ooh!" Abby spun around from her computers, a smile on her lips and her hands held out expectantly. But instead of getting the red caffeine that she was expecting, he slapped Kate's notes into the palm of her hand. "Aw, Gibbs." She pouted.

"Next time, Abby." Gibbs promised.

"Okay." She sighed. "So what's this?" She looked at the note book.

"It's Kate's notes," Gibbs told her. "Shelby described the bomb and I want a rendering."

"Does that mean he's okay?" Abbys asked.

"He's fine, Abby." He told her, but she could hear the note of concern anyway.

"Alright, bossman." Abby nodded. "I'll have done withing two hours."

"Good." Gibbs leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before he left.

Abby gave a sigh as she flipped through Kate's notes until she found the description of the bomb and then started her animation.

\--x

True to her word, two hours later, Abby had the animation of the bomb and the senario that may have went down. It was made easier with Kate's detailed notes of the bomb and the sketches and messurements of the scene. She called Gibbs, Tim and Tony down to her lab.

"I entered all the dimensions into my program and went through many animations before I found the right amount of plastic exlosives that were used. And this was what I came up with," She said.

"Ah, I love this thing." Tony muttered, already at the flat screen and ready for a show.

"Show me, Abs." Gibbs told the scientist.

"No need to say it twice," Abby clicked her mouse and the animation started.

The team watched the simulation. Gibbs' expression was hard as he watched the bomb go off, causing the mine to activate and his son to fly through the air. The screen went black, but his expression stayed tight.

"How much plastic explossive was used, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"By my calculations, near 12 grams within 5 pounds of clay." Abby told him. "If First Class Petty Officer Gibbs hadn't been able to get at least ten feet, the damage would have been more severe. The big bang came from the landmine, that was what killed Commander Reynolds, and helped propel the P.O."

"Are we still thinking this is suicide, boss?" Tim asked.

"Yes, McGee. So fine something to proof that all of this was planned." Gibbs growled.

**chapter VIII end--**

 


	10. IX

"McGee," Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen, finding DiNozzo gone.

"Boss?" Tim looked up from his computer screen.

"Find anything in Reynolds' and Shelby's lockers?"

Tim's eyes widened as he stared up at Gibbs, frozen. _They didn't search the lockers at the Yard!_ Now he was scared as Gibbs looked down at him through a narrowed gaze.

"McGee..." Gibbs started slowly, his voice flowing with anger that his team had made such a rookie mistake. "Did you search the lockers?"

Tim was pale as a ghost as his mouth opened and closed, trying to get words out. Ones that were blocked by fear. With this case being so important to Gibbs, he didn't understand how they had over-looked something so simple, yet something that could be very vital to their case.

"Of course we did, boss!" Tony spoke up behind Gibbs, a little breathless.

Gibbs turned from Tim, who had a small heart-attack, to Tony, looking his Senior Agent up and down. It looked like he had been running. "Tony?" 

"Boss..." Tony said trying to even his breath. Gibbs' impatient gaze kick-started him into action. "Right." He swallowed before he spoke. "In Reynolds’ locker, it was almost exactly like his apartment. It was crazy. He must have just kept his field uniform in there because the only personal thing that was in there, was an old picture of his daughter. And by the looks of it, boss, he must've kept it in his pocket or something before he taped it to the door."

Gibbs nodded. He found that somewhat suspicious. Someone who had been on base as long as Reynolds had, was sure to have a few more personal things in his locker. "And Shelby?"

"His was a completely different picture. For ten months it looked pretty lived in. There was an extra uniform, civilian clothes, jacket and shoes, toiletries. He had a couple of creams and a few photos on the door." Tony listed off. "I sent it all down to Abby."

"Boss?" Tim asked, drawing the man's attention back to him. "Ducky just called, he said that he has something."

Gibbs gave him a look before he headed to the back elevator.

"You owe me big time, McForget." Tony told the other Agent.

Tim glowered back. "What didn't you tell me?"

Tony just grinned back at him.

**\--x**

"Ducky, McGee said you found something?" Gibbs asked as he walked through the autopsy doors.

"You are very much correct, Jethro." Ducky told him happily. "You realize, this reminds me..."

Gibbs looked at him.

"As I was about to explain," Ducky jumped trains. "I was about to put the body in storage when I noticed an odd discolouration at the tips of our Commanders fingers and under his nails."

"That it, Duck?"

"Yes, Jethro. I believe it is." Ducky told him. "I sent the sample to Abby."

Now they were finally getting somewhere.

**\--x**

"What'da ya got, Abs?" Gibbs questioned the Goth over the music, it was finally getting back to normal in the lab.

"Gibbs!" Abby cheered, clapping her hands together as she turned her radio down to background noise.

He gave her a half-smile. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Of course not!" she protested, playing hurt. "You're the only one for me."

Gibbs sighed. "What do you have for me?"

"Business as usual," Abby agreed. "What do you want first, Gibbs? The trace that Ducky found or what Tony brought me?"

"Ducky's trace," Gibbs told her.

"Alright." she spun around to her table and picked up a small specimen jar, she held it out to Gibbs. "This was the trace Ducky found under victim's nails."

Gibbs squinted at it.

Abby smiled. "It doesn't look like much, but it was enough. I ran it through Major Mass Spec. and the results that I got were very interesting."

"Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess, Abbs?" Gibbs raised a brow.

She giggled. "Of course not, Gibbs!" she put the jar down and showed him a piece of paper with the results. "The trace under Reynolds nails were consistent with the traces of clay that was recovered from the scene."

"What are you saying, Abby?"

She sighed. "I'm telling you, Gibbs, that Reynolds was the one that made the bomb."

Gibbs was quiet. And it wasn't his usual quiet. His lips were in a hard line and his eyes were colder than dry ice. Abigail knew that this was personal to the bossman, but she was a little scared looking at him now.

"There's more." she told him, almost with reluctance. 

He looked at her with his piercing gaze when she didn't say anything further. "More what?"

"Well... I went through the stuff that Tony brought back from the base. There was nothing of interest in Commander Reynolds locker because it seems that he cleared it out of all personal things except for the one photo of his daughter." She paused for a moment, biting her lip in her nervousness. "It was what I found in PO Gibbs'..." she waited for his reaction and she wasn't sure what she was really expecting.

Gibbs took a very deep breath. It was looking more and more like Reynolds was the one that was doing this, but now Abby was saying that she found something in Shelby's locker. His gut churned as he wondered what it could possibly mean. Was his son involved? How could he have not known that? Gibbs realized now, that him heading this case was not the ideal thing for it. But it was too late now.

"Go on," he told her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Right," Abby nodded, taking her own breath. "So, his locker has all the usual stuff that you'd expect to see: extra uniform and clothes, jacket, toiletries... um, he had a few muscle creams and a bottle of Advil. There was also a few photos," she handed the evidence bag to Gibbs.

He took it and looked down at them. There were three in total, two rather old and one more recent. The newer one was of Shelby and Jackson, smiling, Jackson's arm around his shoulder; a photo taken in front of the store with Shelby in his Service Uniform. One of the older ones was a school picture, taken of Kelly the same year that she died; and it brought up a lot of things. And the last picture was a family one, of himself, Shelby, Shannon and Kelly. It was one of the last that was taken of them all together-- as a family. Things were happy back then, but then he got deployed and the shit hit the fan. Gibbs didn't think he had a picture of Shelby since then and a few days ago he could have lost his son.

He closed his eyes for a second before he handed them back to Abby, who gave him a soft smile.

"What was it that you found?" he finally asked.

"I don't even think that Tony noticed it, and it wasn't until I combed through everything that I found it. His jacket, on the inside of the breast pocket. I found this." She held up another evidence bag and Gibbs looked at the contents.

"An envelope, Abs?"

"Not just an envelope, Gibbs." She signed. "An envelope addressed to Shelby."

"And what was in it, _Abby_?" he questioned, his voice hard; knowing that she was beating around the bush, and hated the reason his gut was telling him.

"It looks like a suicide note, Gibbs." She told him softly.

"Suicide..." he held out his hand and Abby quickly placed the bagged letter in it. Gibbs read through the plastic and wasn't quite sure that how he felt about what he was reading. He looked back up to Abby, a question on his lips, but she already knew what it was.

"Commander Reynolds wrote this letter, Gibbs, I compared the writing style with a sample that I was able to find in his Service file. As well as his prints… and no one else’s. "

"You did good work, Abby." He told her and as he handed her back the letter, he leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before he left.

Case closed.

He walked into the bullpen to find both McGee and DiNozzo at their desks‘. They both looked up at him.

"Case closed." Gibbs told them. "Reynolds committed suicide."

"You found proof?" Tony asked, sitting up in his chair, his brows raised.

"Reynolds had evidence underneath his fingernails to prove that he built the device, and Abby found a suicide note that he left for Shelby." Gibbs said as he sat down behind his desk. "We finished for the day, hand in your case reports in the morning." He told them.

Tony started to gather his things, but Tim stayed behind his desk.

Gibbs looked at him. "Problem, McGee?" he asked and Tony stopped, looking at the youngest Agent.

"I found something," he said.

"Didn't you hear him, Probie?" Tony said. "Case closed, the guy committed suicide."

"Yeah, but I think I found out _why."_ Tim told them.

"And why, Tim, did this man nearly blow-up my son?" Gibbs questioned harshly.

"Well," Tim said a little nervously. "I went back to his last deployment and traced his payments, it seemed that he was paying an outside psychiatrist for treatment. Depression. It seemed like it had been going on for months. But I found no record of it in his service file."

"O.K., so he was depressed enough to kill himself." Tony recapped. "But why would he kill himself _that_ way? To make it not look like suicide?"

But Tim shook his head. "I went over his life insurance and it states that if Reynolds committed suicide as a result of a mental health issues, his benefactor\-- his daughter-- would still get the money when she turned eighteen. So if he had committed suicide openly, the result would have been the same except for the fact of Shelby _not_ getting hurt."

Gibbs was silent and both Agents looked to their leader. Slowly his coldness started to thaw and turned to a silent burning anger that came off of his still form, his hard expression.

"Boss?" Tony asked in concern.

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. The words in Reynolds' note were starting to make sense. He stood up suddenly, his chair hitting the small cabinet behind him. He went into his drawer and pulled out his things, clipping them to his belt as he came out from around his desk.

"Boss!" Tony repeated.

"Go home," he told them and went to the front elevator.

Tim and Tony watched the doors close on him before looking at each other.

"What do we do?" Tim asked.

Tony sighed. "We go home, Probie."

**_chapter IX end--_ **

 


	11. X

Not much honking followed Gibbs as he drove to the hospital, just tire squeals. By the late hour, Shelby should be out of surgery and Gibbs hoped that he was going to be able to get answers, and the ones that he wanted, not ones that a father would not want to hear.

Though visiting hours were over, they still let him through.

When he got to the open door, Kate didn't notice him. She was sitting in the armed chair near the foot of Shelby's bed, her legs tucked under her and her sketch pad in her lap. She would look up at Shelby before going back to her pad and doing a few strokes. Shelby lay asleep in his bed.

"Kate," Gibbs called.

Kate's head jerked to him. "Gibbs," she quickly closed her book and stood. "Any news on the case?" she asked him after she approached him at the door with one glance behind her at Shelby.

"Reynolds committed suicide," Gibbs told her.

"Oh," she said in sadness and relief at knowing that Shelby wasn't in any danger. "Do you know why?"

"Depression." He said shortly and looked at Shelby as he said the word.

Kate looked at him with furrowed brows, not liking what his look implied. "You don't think that Shelby's involved, do you?" she couldn't believe that. She may have only known him for only about twenty-four hours, but that was a lot of time to talk. And from what he had told her, he had been through many things in his life, and sure at times he seemed sad, but she couldn't see him as _depressed_.

"How did his surgery go?" Gibbs asked instead.

"It went fine," she said. "They were able to repair it. He'll be able to leave the hospital in the morning."

"Good." Gibbs nodded and shouldered passed her.

Kate turned to him. "Are you going to tell him? Now?"

"Yeah." He stepped to Shelby's bed and gently shook his shoulder, careful of his injured one.

Shelby moaned and his right eye lid peeled open and Gibbs looked into his peacock green eye-- for just an instant he was taken back to the days where every morning he'd wake up and see those eyes, _her_ eyes looking down at him.

"Dad?" Shelby questioned, blinking. He reached up to his face but stopped when the sling hindered his progress and he twinged his shoulder. He switched hands and rubbed his right eye, almost doing the same to his left eye but stopped when he felt the bandage. "What are you doing here? Did something happen?" he asked, his voice cracking from sleep.

Kate stepped to the other side of his bed and offered him a paper cup filled with water.

"Thanks," he smiled softly at Kate as he took the cup with stiff fingers, and she returned the gesture. Gibbs looked between them with narrowed eyes. "Dad?" Shelby asked again, handing the empty cup back to Kate, who threw it in the trash, when he was finished. 

"Commander Reynolds committed suicide, Shelby." Gibbs told him.

"What?" Shelby struggled upright. "But..."

"I'm sorry, Shelby." Kate whispered, giving his shoulder a rub.

"Why?" he asked Gibbs.

"McGee found records that he was attending sessions with a psychiatrist for depression." Gibbs informed him.

"Depression?" Shelby didn't believe it. "Was, was it the divorce?"

"Partly, and his long Service."

"But if he committed suicide, why did he do it the way that he did?" he questioned.

"You tell me." Gibbs told him without much sympathy.

Shelby furrowed his brows in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Maybe this will clarify things." Gibbs said and reached inside his coat to pull out the bagged note that he had gotten from Abby before he left for the hospital. "This was a letter that we found that was addressed to you from Reynolds."

"What?" Shelby didn't understand, his heart was beating harshly inside his chest. "I've never seen that before!"

"Explain this little passage for me." Gibbs ignored his son's confusion.

_"I'm doing this because I've recently realized that I had been feeling this way for a long time now, and just never realized it until my wife left me and took my daughter with her. And since I've realized these things about myself, I've realized them about you, Shelby Jackson. I see it when you suddenly stop, stop moving and stop talking... and you'd stare off to some far away place. At first I believed that your were remembering your days of deployment, but then I started to notice the things that triggered them. Not things of war. But things like  the slamming of a truck door._

_I wished you not to live the way that I have, living in denial. And so this is why I prepare to take my own life. And do you the favour of taking yours. And if you do survive this ordeal, I shall feel shame in my grave for I have failed in saving you._

_Jeffery Reynolds V"_

"Gibbs!" Kate was shocked.

Gibbs tucked the note back into his jacket and looked at his son, he was still filled with a burning anger, but it wavered at the look of his son.

Shelby's face was wet with tears as they leaked from his watery gaze. His expression was so betrayed, but he didn't make a sound. He took a deep breath through his teeth and reached up with his good arm to wipe away his tears. His fingers caught the wet bandage over his injured eye and it came off with the wetness.

He didn't seem to notice, but Gibbs did, and saw one of Shelby's more serious injuries for the first time. His eye was swollen, red with irritation and bruised; and there was a harsh looking cut that extended from the bottom of his brow to around the center of his eye lid, it was held together with a single stitch.

Shelby ignored the expression that was in his father's gaze. "Why don't you just come out and say what you're really asking!"

"Did you know about this letter?"

"No."

"Were you privy to what was happening when you were disarming the bomb, but became afraid and ran?" Gibbs questioned, his tone not even close to familial.

" _No..."_ Shelby hate d the fact that his voice croaked. "I didn't believe that the bomb was real. I ran... because Commander Reynolds ordered me to."

Gibbs wasn't sure whether or not he actually wanted to know if this next part was true, but he could already feel his gut churn and twist with all his past guilt. "Are... Is what Reynolds wrote in this letter the truth?"

Shelby sighed. "I've been through a lot, dad. All of it happening at a defining moment in my life. And despite all the things that have happened, I don't regret the choices that I have made. Everyone has had those moments where something reminds them of the past. And it's true that I had been having those moments because around the same time that the Commander got a divorce, I was reminded of Kelly. And how, always months before her birthday, she'd go running around telling everyone about this cool thing that she saw. But I am _not_ depressed." Shelby told Gibbs, setting his shoulders despite the twinge it gave his strained shoulder. "I could never kill myself, I don't even allow myself to think that way. All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me, and I knew the shame that you would feel if I did."

Shelby was finished and he threw the thin blanket from off his legs, and threw them over the side. His bare feet hit the floor as he stood and his gown billowed around his body. Gibbs moved out of the way as Shelby limped passed him on a wrapped shin, dragging his I.V. stand with him.

As soon as the bathroom door closed behind Shelby, Kate turned to Gibbs.

"That was harsh, Gibbs." Kate told him, her voice upset but quiet.

Gibbs turned to her. "I needed answers."

"You didn't have to do it that way." Kate said. "He just went through something traumatic, and you bombard him with that letter?"

"He's not a child, Kate."

"Maybe not, but he's your son. And I should think that seeing as he's the only son you have, you'd treat him better." Kate knew that she was over-stepping with this, and the glare in Gibbs' eyes told her that he agreed, but she couldn’t just stand there and not say something.

Gibbs looked her up and down. "You are not to get involved with my son, Agent Todd." He told her, his gaze narrowed. "Go home," he said, "This case is over."

Kate looked at him with a narrowed gaze, her expression said what she was feeling even if she didn't voice it. She collected her sketch pad and bag and left.

Gibbs just finished sighing when Shelby came out of the bathroom with a fresh bandage over his eye. He looked around the room in confusion.

"Where's Kate?" he asked, seeing that she and her bag were gone.

"I sent her home." Gibbs told him, and saw the disappointment that flashed across his face.

Shelby sighed and went back to his bed, he avoided his dad's gaze as Gibbs fixed the blanket around him. "Are you staying?" he finally asked quietly.

Gibbs sighed this time. "If that's okay with you. I'm sorry that I made you upset, Shelby. But I had to know,"

"I understand," Shelby said, finally looking Gibbs in the eye. "You can stay... if you want."

Gibbs smiled and pulled up a chair. "How'd the surgery go?" he had already asked Kate, but he needed to hear it from his son's lips.

Shelby smiled back. "It went good. I just can't fly or be around very loud noises."

**chapter X end--**

 


	12. XI

Gibbs drove Shelby home with him, and as the younger man looked at his old home, he took big gulps of breath that he knew he would need before he stepped inside.

Gibbs led the way.

The last time that Shelby had been in this house, he was thirteen. And his last memories where the worst. He mind and body flooded with recognition, though the place was completely different. It was as if all traces of the three of them was completely erased; him, Kelly and mom. This place was so bare, so emotionally blocked that this was a stranger's home now.

No, that was wrong. This was not a home, not anymore. This was just a house, and that was it.

Shelby looked at his father, trying to gauge his reaction of walking into an empty house, and got a barbed sigh.

"Get yourself situated," Gibbs said, taking off his jacket and shoes by the door.

"I think I'm going to have a shower," Shelby told him. "I haven't had a proper one in days."

Gibbs nodded; he did look a little grubby and needed a shave. "Come downstairs when your finished, I'll have something for you to eat."

Shelby nodded and gave his father a small smile as he climbed jerkily up the stairs. Carrying a duffle bag that Jackson had packed for him before he left. The first room that he passed was his parents‘--or what used to be his parents‘. Though the door was open, it barely looked lived in. It was bare and the blanket that covered the bed looked stiff and unused.

Shelby sighed sadly at the sight.

To get to his old room, he had to pass Kelly's. It had been so long since he had connected with his little sister, and held his breath as he opened her bedroom door. Stuffy, stale air filled his lungs, and the sight that he saw caused his heart to be struck. It was barren, deadened of anything that was Kelly except for the pink and purple walls, and the stars that danced upon the ceiling. 

Maybe she was there.

He closed her door and went to his, his hand pausing on the door knob. He wondered what he would find. Would it be empty like Kelly's? Or preserved from when he had left it at thirteen? He prepared himself.

Shelby twisted the knob and opened the door, the staleness that hit him wasn't as overpowering as Kelly's room. And as he flicked the light switch, he saw that, unlike Kelly's, his was a like a frozen memento of his thirteen-year-old self. He noted that the room had been cleaned recently, and the sheets on his bed changed.

He stepped into what seemed like a pocket of frozen time, and closed the door behind him. Trying not to let the memories push his down. The desk where he did his homework, or the shelf above his bed that had books and texts about the subject that he knew he wanted to do when he grew older from the age of ten. He didn't dwell on it though, he couldn't change things of the past.

Shelby grunted as he put his full duffle on his bed, and then gathered a change of clothes and his toiletries. He closed and locked the bathroom door at the end of the hall and set his things on the toilet lid.

He glanced at himself in the mirror and he had to say that he hadn't looked this grim in awhile.

He had three days worth of stubble. His skin was red and blotchy from the off-hand burns. But he was healing. All his cuts had scabbed up nicely. He no longer needed a sling for his shoulder, though he wasn't allowed to lift heavy things and strain the muscles. His ruptured ear was healing nicely as well. The stitches in his shin and eye would be removed mid next week, so for now they still needed to be covered. Shelby's eye was no longer wrapped up, but instead there was a bandage-like eye-patch that had tiny breathing holes and protected his wounded eye.

It was going to be hard to get used to, having a big blind spot. He took it off, he didn't want to get it wet in the shower. His eye was no longer completely shut, still, he couldn't make anything solid out.

Shelby looked at himself, his eye flicking across his reflection in the mirror. He didn't look like himself, but he didn't put to much pressure on himself. He'd almost been blown away by his Commanding Officer, by his Mentor. He was _allowed_ to be out of it for a little while. And with the pressure of his father...

Shelby shook his head. One step at a time. He had come up here for a reason.

He stripped off his clothes and turned the knobs of the shower. The showerhead sputtered for a second before a clear, solid stream of water sprayed out. He let it heat up before he stepped into the spray.

It felt good against his assaulted skin and bruised shoulder. He washed his hair, and as he lathered the soap, it slipped from his wet palms. He looked down but could not see it. As he twisted around, his foot came out from under him.

Gibbs heard the thump all the way in the kitchen. His head turned in the direction. "Shelby?" he called, and waited but got no answer. He threw the plastic spoon in his hand on the counter and left the soup on the stove as he ran up the stairs. "Shelby!" he banged on the door when he found it to be locked.

Shelby groaned in pain and confusion, blinking water splatter out of his eyes. He wasn’t sure what hurt the most: the back of his head, his tailbone, or the already injured shoulder that he might as well have body-slammed off the edge of the tub. He could hear his dad yelling and banging on the door, and Shelby knew that his father must've heard him fall.

Shelby groaned again as he took a deep breath. "I'm fine." he called out to his father.

The pounding stopped.

"Shelby?"

"Yeah, dad. I'm fine," he called. "I just slipped!" he palmed his injured shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Gibbs questioned, worried about his son's already injured condition and whether or not he aggravated anything.

"Yes." Shelby grunted as he rolled over and pushed himself up to his hand and knees, the showerhead's spray now pounding his back.

"I'm coming in." Gibbs called.

"Dad. You can't, the door--" Shelby started, but his father had already put his shoulder to it. "Dad!"

Gibbs ignored it and grabbed a towel from the rack, before he went to the tub and pulled the shower curtain open. He found his son on his hands and knees, and noticed that he was only holding himself up with one arm. 

"Dad! What are you doing?" he asked in surprise.

Gibbs reached in and turned off the water, and put the towel around Shelby’s naked waist. Before he reached for his son.

"Dad--" Shelby started to protest; he was a grown man for heaven sake!

"Shut up." Gibbs told him plain and simple, and the younger man did.

Gibbs helped him from the shower and set him on the toilet, Shelby couldn't even get a word in as his father patted him dry.

"Did you hurt anything?" Gibbs demanded, kneeling in front of him.

Shelby sighed. "My shoulder." He finally gave in to this man that looked like his father, but hadn't acted like it for fifteen years. "I hit it off the side when I went down."

Gibbs nodded and stood, and started an examination of his son's already injured shoulder. It was tender to the touch and at every probe, Gibbs could see the silent flinch that crossed Shelby's face. And with a glance at his back, Gibbs saw that there was already a bruise blooming on his son's back. 

"Is that all?" he asked.

Shelby thought about it. "Yes," he said finally.

The look that Gibbs gave him, said that he didn't believe him. "I'll get some ice." He told him. "Can you get dressed by yourself?"

"Dad, I'm not a little kid!" Shelby snapped.

Gibbs raised his brows but said nothing. "You're going to have to wear the sling again." He left for downstairs, noting that he was going to have fix the door in the morning if they every wanted it to shut again. "Come downstairs when you're done." 

Shelby sighed again; he'd finally gotten rid of something only to have to wear it again. He shook his head and stood from the toilet, he slipped on a clean pair of underwear, and a pair of track pants. He left his chest bare. He cleared the mirror of the fog, and with a fumbling left hand, shaved. Only cutting himself half a dozen times, before he was finally finished. He rolled his pant leg up to let the cut on his shin breath, and put his eye-patch back on. 

His shoulder throbbing, he went downstairs.

"Sit." Gibbs told him.

Shelby furrowed his brows and sat at the kitchen table.

Gibbs put a tea-towel over Shelby's shoulder before he placed a cracked ice-pack over it. Shelby gritted his teeth as he felt the cold, but then started to relax as the cold started to take affect. He looked up as a bowl was set in front of him, and Gibbs sat next to him at the side of the table.

This was going to be a new start for them, a new beginning.

"Thank you." Shelby said softly, and he meant it.

Gibbs nodded.

**\--x**

With his son now in the house, Gibbs was finally dealt with the cold blow that this place was just so empty as he worked on his boat alone in the dark basement, remembering the days when the kids would come down and 'help'.

Laying on the couch, he laid wide-awake, staring at the ceiling. It was like he could hear every movement, breath and heartbeat that his son made through it. He had felt fear in his gut when he heard that thump in the bathroom and Shelby hadn't answered right away. The same fear that he had always felt in his gut when he went away on deployments and wasn't sure whether or not he'd be coming back to his family.

Shelby was going to stay here, whether his son wanted to or not, and even if he had to fight his father.

**chapter XI end--**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!


	13. Epilogue

Shelby felt as if he had angry butterflies in his stomach. He was nervous about doing this, but would always wonder if he didn't. He thought that they had a connection, other than Gibbs. Him and her. He couldn't get her-- get her name, Kate Todd-- out of his head the whole two weeks that his dad had him on lock-down.

The elevator doors slid open with a muted ding, and he took a step out. This was the first time he had been here, and the place was dark and inactive. He sighed. Of course she wouldn't be here, it was late as heck. He was such an idiot.

He turned back around and was about to step back into the elevator when he heard the ruffling of pages. He turned back.

"Hello?" he asked.

There was a pause of silence, then... "Shelby...?" Kate popped up from behind a short section of wall, surprised.

Shelby felt the same.

"What are you doing here, Shelby?" she asked him. "Gibbs went home a little while ago."

"Oh." He bit his lip. "I didn't come here looking for my dad."

"You didn't?" she furrowed her brows, but found that a small smile spread across her lips.

Shelby shook his head, smiling a little too. "I was hoping to find you."

"You did," she agreed, starting to feel butterflies in her stomach.

He looked down for a moment, before looking at her, taking a breath. "I was hoping to ask you to dinner."

Kate's brows rose. "Really?"

Yep, butterflies were there. She remembered what Gibbs had told her in the hospital, and for a moment she felt conflicted, but it was only for a moment. Shelby spoke before she could.

"Yeah. If you're not busy, that is. Or if you not hungry... or just don't want to." He started to babble, "I mean, that's okay with me. It's not like I'll be--"

Kate held up her hand and he stopped. "I would like that." She told him.

His lips split into a big smile. "Great!"

Kate smiled too. She knew that she didn't want to start this of with a lie, so she encouraged herself to tell him. She didn't want to compromise Shelby’s budding relationship with Gibbs, but knew that Shelby was a man and so what he thought was right with it.

"There's something I should tell you," she said, and he stepped forward as she came out from behind her desk. "Before I left the hospital, Gibbs told me that he didn't want us to get involved with each other." She held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

"He did?" Shelby didn't know why this surprised him. She nodded, and he thought about it for a moment. He was just starting to get his relationship with his father back up and running, and didn’t want to lie to the man. But Gibbs was being irrational about this. He was an adult, he could date whomever he wished. And he wanted to date Kate. "I guess we just won't tell him, now will we?"

She chuckled. "I guess we won't."

**Damselfly finished.**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the ending. I will be doing a sequel to this called: Dragonfly. It will focus on Kate and Shelby's budding relationship.


End file.
